Interviews with the Famously Departed

Miguel Cervantes Speaks

by Joseph Glantz

Miguel de Cervantes was born September 29, 1547 in Spain and died on April 23, 1616 in Madrid. His Don Quixote de La Mancha is considered the first novel. His influence on Spanish literature is so great that, for some, Spanish is called the language of Cervantes.

Painting of Don Quixote by Picasso

The essence of Don Quixote

An honest man’s word is as good as his bond. (Don Quixote de La Mancha; 1605-1615 – all other references are to this novel)

And why didDon Quixote pursue his dreams?

Diligence is the mother of good fortune, and idleness — its opposite — never brought a man to the goal of any of his best wishes.

Are there any limits to tilting at windmills?

The ass will carry his load, but not a double load; ride not a free horse to death.

Women. Can’t live with them. Can’t live without them?

That’s the nature of women … not to love when we love them, and to love when we love them not.

Why maybe only single people should be President?

Love and War are the same thing, and stratagems and policy are as allowable in the one as in the other.

The problem with litigation?

Those who’ll play with cats must expect to be scratched.

The benefits of arbitration?

From pro’s and con’s they fell to a warmer way of disputing.

The key to good investing?

‘Tis the part of a wise man to keep himself today for tomorrow, and not venture all his eggs in one basket.

A guilty conscience?

The very remembrance of my former misfortune proves a new one to me.

Where were you on the night you were captured by Algerian pirates?

My memory is so bad that many times I forget my own name.

Let’s try a few comments on your fellow writers. Dante Allegheri?

Every man is as Heaven made him, and sometimes a great deal worse.

Benjamin Franklin said “A penny saved is a penny earned,” what say you?

A little in one’s own pocket is better than much in another man’s purse. ‘Tis good to keep a nest egg. Every little makes a mickle.

Can you top Twain’s cynicism?

As well look for a needle in a bottle of hay.

Miguel, you were known to tilt at windmills in your day and to enjoy a good joust. Let’s try a few political questions.

Why people rely on the pollsters so much?

Ill luck, you know, seldom comes alone.

How would you define election day?

Are we to mark this day with a white or a black stone?

And why do we take politics so seriously?

When the head aches, all the members partake of the pains.

What are elections all about?

There are only two families in the world, the Haves and the Have-Nots.

And this particular election – 2014

Thank you for nothing.

Why do people change parties?

I find my familiarity with thee has bred contempt.

Why good people don’t run for public office?

A private sin is not so prejudicial in this world as a public indecency.

Journalism?

The pen is the tongue of the soul; as are the thoughts engendered there, so will be the things written.

In other words?

It is not the hand but the understanding of a man that may be said to write.

What’s your best line?

Let none presume to tell me that the pen is preferable to the sword.

William Penn said “where wisdom has wit to express it, now there’s the best orator.”

Good wits jump; a word to the wise is enough.

Essence of life?

He … got the better of himself, and that’s the best kind of victory one can wish for.

Any other thoughts on life?

Many go out for wool, and come home shorn themselves.

Death?

There is a strange charm in the thoughts of a good legacy, or the hopes of an estate, which wondrously alleviates the sorrow that men would otherwise feel for the death of friends.

Joseph Glantz

Joe practiced law in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, for 14 years and designed large scale databases for AT&T for five years. He currently works for NextLevel Web Strategies, a legal marketing firm based in Princeton, NJ. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, received his J.D. from George Washington Law School and he has a Masters Degree in Computer Science from Drexel University.

Joe’s book, Philadelphia Originals, was released for publication by Schiffer Publishing in 2009. The book shows that the unique styles (how Philadelphians paint, sing, practice law, tell a joke, cook) of Philadelphia’s most notable professions can be traced back to the perfect complement of the spiritual William Penn and the practical Benjamin Franklin.

His second project. Philadelphia Before You Were Born, is a study of the last time Philadelphia newspapers used artists for all their illustrations. It was published in 2011.

Joe’s many other published writings include a humorous look at book clubs for the Bucks County Writer and the literary stages of a baseball season for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He also writes the Interviews with the Famously Departed Column for the Wild River Review.